Marble kitchens, large loft-like lounge areas with exceptionally high ceilings, and exquisite herringbone parquet flooring, as well as a salon on the top floor provide an impressive backdrop for people to work creatively and productively in the new TOG workspace. Located on the prominent boulevard of Unter den Linden, Linden Palais sits proudly amid Berlin’s most famous and historic monuments. Completed back in 1908, it’s one of the few buildings that wasn’t destroyed during World War II, why it still tells stories of time through striking ornamentation, precious ceiling mosaic, neoclassical stucco, and historic marble inlays that all serve as a stimulating contrast to the newly designed workspaces.
Being the former home of the French embassy, the Linden Palais has amazing views over Berlin and nearly 5.000 m2 of workspace across seven floors – with the upper floor being an extension designed later by David Chipperfield Architects. The space boasts an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere, which calls for informal meetings over a cup of coffee brewed by a local coffee roaster, while offering a beautiful home for everyone, from young startups to freelancers or experienced entrepreneurs.
The street level entrance is opened towards the outside boulevard, drawing in the natural green colors of the characteristic Linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall. To enhance this connection, the grey tiling on the floor resembles that of the pavement outside, so that the street seems to flow naturally into the space.
“The existing building with its many beautiful features and its location on the historic Unter den Linden were a big source of inspiration to us. We knew very early on that we wanted to highlight those features in a contemporary way”
– Sofie Thorning, Norm Architects
The colour scale of the interior is inspired by the colours of the original entrance ceiling – heavy colours brought out by marble, gold, wood, and stone, which we have interpreted in more subtle colour references to maintain an overall minimal look. Each colour serves as a base for the interior in each of the floors, while also functioning as refined wayfinding.
All along the street facade the connection to the tree lined boulevard is almost unobstructed by the full height windows bringing in nature and an abundance of natural light.
The building comes together through two separate concepts that make up a whole. The first takes inspiration from the surrounding environment; Under den Linden, mimicking the rhythm of the trees lined up along the historic boulevard through columns and greenery in the spacious lobby, giving the guest an urban outdoor feel. Concrete floors and industrial yet tactile materials emphasize the references to the city structures of the neighboring settings.
“An appealing design and a coherent concept – the feel-good character at the workplace is often underestimated. The attention to detail, the carefully selected materials as well as the targeted placement of interior classics, is unique in the world of flexible workspaces”
– TOG
The reception and associated lounge area are to be experienced as an outdoor space. We have strived to create this feeling through an interpretation of the essence of such a space, while playing with the limits of inside and outside.
A defining characteristic of ‘Unter den Linden’ is the Linden trees along the boulevard. With rows of pillars and other repetitive elements, the theme of the alley continues inside the shared office space. These elements define the different zones of the ground floor and make the experience of discovering the space more interesting, by not showing the entirety at first glance. An added interior colonnade creates a transition between open public space and more enclosed work zones, forming an experience of moving between exterior and interior spaces.
Well-being and productivity go hand in hand. Therefore, we strived to create an optimal working environment in which there is space for both focused work and for relaxed exchange among colleagues and interesting conversation partners.
Light-flooded rooms, thanks to large, partly ceiling-high windows and open-plan room concepts, make most lamps redundant, while the well-thought-out acoustics provide optimal conditions for conferences, conversations, or video calls.
The second concept of the Linden Palais is that of “The Heritage Apartment”, characterized by Herringbone Parquet flooring, detailed paneling, arched win dows, and heavy drapes. Approaching that with a more contemporary design language means tightening up the interior with graphic panels, minimal inbuilt elements, and contemporary interpretations of classic lamps and chandeliers. Artworks decorate the walls and marble plinths on display, while rugs and book-cases accentuate the homey feel, creating an exclusive, residential impression, elegantly balancing the openness of the work environment with the laidback atmosphere of a private dwelling.
The stone and marble selected for both kitchens and bathrooms change with the color scale going up through the building and defines the tone of the textiles and materials that are implemented together with them.
Linden Palais is most certainly a striking building that feature intricate details, why conveying and promoting the architectural history within was a given. We’ve done so simply by restoring and interpreting elements that tell its story in a humble way.
“As we set out to create the concept for Linden Palais, we formed working titles such as ‘Kitchen’, ‘Library’ and ‘Living Room’ to always keep in mind the domesticity that we wanted to integrate in the working environment.”
– Sofie Thorning, Norm Architects
Materials are chosen to reflect the selected colour scale in an elegant way, with shades of that colour brought out by natural materials, softening up the colour scale.
“Time has changed and working remotely is part of everyday life in many companies. We hope to bring employees back from this newfound comfort with a hitherto unseen attention to design and a feel-good atmosphere. A working environment that is rarely found even in one’s own home.”
– TOG
We named the top floor ‘The Parlour’ because of its clear reference to traditional salons. The kitchen exudes this old-style atmosphere in a contemporary and exclusive way through thoughtful, tactile materials.
The rooftop terrace sitting on top of Chipperfield’s extension to the original building, is decorated with planters, comfortable lounge furniture and sunshades for a cosy vibe that lets the view speak for itself.
Despite the dark color and material palette on the top floor, there’s still lots of light from the slanted windows. The wooden lamella walls, that are an interpretation of the original tree panels, changes appearance depending on the time of day and the position of the light flowing in – adding a tactile and stimulating sense to the space.
Existing architectural elements such as herringbone parquet flooring, detailed ceilings and wall paneling, curved archways all served as our starting point for the design. Hence, elements can be found all over that establish the connection to the history of building in a striking yet unobtrusive way – just like it’s the case with the Chevron Parquet flooring on the top floor that serves as a nod to the Herringbone structure found in the past.
Meeting rooms are a place for important decisions to be made, ideas to be shared, and collaboration to be strengthened. Moreover, having a quiet environment with minimal distractions helps the team focus and be more productive. The curtains that run from one end to the other aren’t just decorative, they enhance the acoustics, which is ever more important today where people tap into meetings from all over the world.
Linden Palais offers spaces that range from 2 to 95 workstations. Office spaces of diverse sizes and features can be rented flexibly and adapted to changing requirements at any time. In addition to hot desks, meeting rooms, private offices and lounge areas, the building also offers open kitchens, a spacious roof terrace and a cozy courtyard on the first floor.
Team:
Architects: Norm Architects
Architect & Partner: Sofie Thorning & Peter Eland
Interior Designer: Linnea Ek Blæhr
Architect: Natasha Cuconescu, Zihan Zhao & Qing Ye
Intern Interior Designer: Maxime Kham
Intern Architect: Emilie Fonager Christiansen
Intern Constructing Architect: Benas Koncius
Client: TOG
Photography: Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen & Sandie Lykke Nolsøe
